Foreign & Security Policy

Lebanon is facing a complete paralysis of all state institutions, accompanied by a deteriorating security situation and a fragmentation of Lebanon into zones of sectarian conflict. The conflict in Syria is worsening the division within the country.

On June 20, 2013, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel, the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue held the conference 20 Years since the Oslo Accords - Success and/or Failure?. In advance of a comprehensive publication of contributions, we are pleased to present this analysis by Dr. Ephraim Lavie on the early foundation of obstacles in the Oslo negotiation process.

Kabul women have two main fears when moving through public spaces: suicide bombers and harassment. Although the risks associated with harassment are less severe than those of a suicide attack, the everyday threat of harassment creates considerable anxiety amongst women. As part of the safety audit, women were asked how they would feel when confronted with various situations when walking down the street

Kabul women have two main fears when moving through public spaces: suicide bombers and harassment. Although the risks associated with harassment are less severe than those of a suicide attack, the everyday threat of harassment creates considerable anxiety amongst women. As part of the safety audit, women were asked how they would feel when confronted with various situations when walking down the street.

The Lebanese author and leftist activist Fawwaz Traboulsi has followed the the Arab revolutions as a writer and analyst, writing down his insights 2012 in his book „Democracy is Revolution“. Mohammad al-Attar met him for the interview about Syria in Beirut.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation will close its office in Ethopia. Under the current political and legal circumstances, the office cannot, in the foreseeable future, fulfil its mission of promoting democratisation, gender justice and sustainable development.

The NGO Monitor inquired again about our funding for "+972 - Advancement of Citizen Journalism", which helps managing and editing their site 972mag.com. The NGO monitor cites a number of contributions to the site as too critical of Israel and accuses the site of being part of the international campaign to demonize Israel. We neither share this general assessment nor do we agree with everything that is posted on 972mag.com.

In Afghanistan, natural resources and conflict have a intimate and complex relationship. In conflict assessment surveys, access to natural resources have been consistently reported as the cause for more than half of local level conflict incidents in Afghanistan. In particular, access to land and access to water are regularly cited by communities across Afghanistan as two top two causes of conflict.

The security needs of Afghan men and women differ. Whereas men bear the brunt of the direct impacts of conflict, women disproportionately suffer from the indirect effects such as increased levels of domestic violence, decreased access to health care and poverty. Due to this difference in security needs, gender must be taken into account when evaluating the relationship between citizens and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

On November 23rd Heinrich-Boell-Foundation organized the international conference “10 Years after Petersberg: Where does Afghanistan stand today?” that addressed the current state of affairs in the country, the role of the regional neighbors and inquired about future prospects for Afghanistan.